How to grow vegetables

Having a personal organic market sounds like a wonderful idea, but do you know how to create a successful beginner vegetable garden? Take our tips for starters:

1. Choose the location
Maybe you’ve already heard it, but correct placement is really important. Choose the layout of your future vegetable garden with great care. If you can, try to locate it near your house so that it is more convenient for you. Also, make sure you don’t plant near trees or in areas where animals have easy access.2. Check the condition of you soil
Before you start dreaming of your vegetable garden, pay close attention to the condition of your soil. In order to get it ready for the seeding process, eliminate all weeds or rocks. Another tip consists of raking the land to smooth it out.3. Understand Your Local Area’s Growing Conditions
Sun and water are two basic conditions that can make your garden plants grow healthy. Therefore, before you start seeding, pay attention to vegetable requirements. Don’t try to grow an exotic vegetable in an area with cold temperatures and no sun.4. Plant only what you love
If you want this garden to grow in harmony, plant only the vegetables you love eating. This way you’ll pay more attention to your garden.

Last, but not least, our most valuable advice if you plan on starting a beginner vegetable garden: make sure you have time to tend to it.

Unfortunately mowing the lawn is something that we do have to do if we want to keep our grass green, tidy and well maintained.

When it comes to lawnmowers, you can choose between an electric mower and a petrol mower. Depending on what type of area you are mowing and the size, both mowers have their advantages to make the job easier, but along with that comes some disadvantages as well.

Starting with electric mowers, they run off power, supplied through a cord connected to the mower. Some advantages of an electric mower are :-

No hassle refilling petrol

Eco-friendly

Lightweight and small

Very quiet, which will help with the neighbors or sleeping children

Most have a one push button for operation, so no heaving a cord to start, which can possibly cause injuries or discomfort.

Disadvantages on the other hand are :-

They require a power cord to run, so you have to constantly maneuver the cord to avoid running or tripping over it

Your limited to the length of the power cord

Not suited for large thick areas

Don’t have the best strong blades i(n fact some are actually plastic and need replacing)

Your other option is a petrol lawnmower. Some of their advantages are :-

Have a wider cutting width

Cuts through thick grass and weeds

Some come with an outlet that you can connect your hose to, to wash away grass clippings and debris from the lawn, so it doesn’t build up. This will help the lifetime and maintenance of your mower.

If you have a larger area there’s no constriction with power leads and finding a power socket each time you move sections.

Of course with advantages come disadvantages. Some of which are :-

A two stroke mower requires oil to be added to the petrol before you can start

Quite loud and noisy

The hassle with refilling with petrol and oil, and the numerous trips to the service station

More costly considering the fuel and oil you have to buy. Also the maintenance and service for a petrol lawnmower is a lot more needed over the complete lifetime of the mower.

Most petrol-fueled lawn mowers still have a pull cord to start, which can strain the back and create injuries.

If you are worried about pollution note that petrol powered mowers create more pollution and fumes than the electric counterparts.

Reading through this article will help you to determine the difference between electric lawnmowers versus the gas lawnmowers, and which benefits you best and makes the tough job of mowing the lawn that little bit easier.

Electric lawnmowers and gas lawnmowers are pretty much a draw on each side. Both having advantages and disadvantages, to one is considered necessarily better than the other.

You don’t have to wait for the cold weather to be gone in order to start the preparations for your spring vegetable garden. As specialists point out, some vegetables do better when you plant them during the frosty season. Let’s see which vegetables do best in harsh conditions:

1. BroccoliSeeds of broccoli can be planted in your spring vegetable garden up to four weeks before the last frost date. In order for broccoli to grow healthy, you can use a low nitrogen fertilizer.

2. CarrotsIn order for carrots to grow robust, they need deep and loose soil. When planting the seeds, make sure that the carrots’ bed is weeded as to avoid the mixture of other plants.

3. CabbageYou can start the seeding process 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost date. It is recommended to sow directly in your garden after the last frost date. Also, bear in mind that cabbages require a very fertile soil, rich in moisture.

4. PotatoesPlanting spring potatoes means that your garden soil must be fertile and well drained. A useful tip to take into account is covering the soil when the potato tubers start growing. This is a preventive measure to keep tubers away from burning.

5. OnionsAs soon as the soil is ready, you can start planting onions, in sets, bulbs or transplants. Use fertilizers close to the roots for a healthier grow.

6. RadishSame as broccoli plants, radish seeds must be planted with about 4 weeks before the last frost date happening in your living area. Be aware of the fact that the radish requires a fertile soil. The great thing about radish plants is that they grow very quickly.

So that’s it, know you know what plants do best in your spring vegetable garden!

Be it hobby, a pastime, or a source of livelihood, growing your own vegetable garden is a fun filled activity that anyone can start. You don’t need too much space for it nor do you need to spend hours poring over books and manuals. It is relatively simple, as you are about to find out.

First things first. The basic requirements that you should meet include adequate sunshine, as most plants need minimal 6 hours of sunlight for healthy growth. Secondly, your soil should drain easily. You could check this by drenching it with a hose, and then checking it the next day to see if it forms into crumbs. Even if it doesn’t, no problem.

Enrich your soil with compost and then try, try and try again until you succeed in creating the ideal soil for your garden.

Needless to say, your vegetable garden should be close to a handy supply of water, as plants may need about 1 inch of water every week. Moreover, if you do not have a large enough plot to fulfill your ambition, intensive rather than row farming might be a better option for you. Intensive farming gives your more output per acreage, and you can design it by dividing your garden into beds 16 sq. feet in size. Further divide each bed into areas of 1 sq. feet, meaning 16 squares in total per bed. Now each square can be planted with either one, four, nine or sixteen plants depending on the space they consume.

Of course, deciding which plants to tend to and how many of them to invest in depends upon your ambient weather conditions and topographical features. However, some plants yield more than one crop in a good season, eliminating the need to plant so many of them.

Also, when planning for your family needs, the following rough guideline for commonly consumed vegetables may be helpful in enlightening you about how much of what to plant.

Plants

No.of plants to feed ONE person

Tomato

3-6

Carrot

30

Broccoli

2-4

Eggplant

1-2

Garlic

12-16

Corn

12-20

Now comes the crucial point of costing. This depends on your idea for your garden; the expenditure includes buying seeds or plants (depending on where you want to start from), fertilizers and insecticides, protective fences and assorted items like gloves, spade, and tillers etc. Although these requirements vary widely according to your situation, lie the quality of soil, type of plant, use of raised beds etc., however, an average household in the US invests approximately $70 for their garden. Don’t let this figure scare you. As I mentioned before, you could start out with a smaller project.

Remember, even a small garden could have a big impact on savings. And when its time to reap what you have sown, you will have that rewarding experience of accomplishment that all your effort and time was completely worth it, and you’d start planning for the next season just like that.